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The Crystal Shard
- Legend of Drizzt: Icewind Dale Trilogy, Book 1
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
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The Crystal Shard
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Summary
Drizzt Do'Urden has settled in the windswept towns of Icewind Dale. There, he encounters a young barbarian named Wulfgar, captured in a raid and made the ward of a grizzled dwarf name Bruenor. With Drizzt's help, Wulfgar will grow from a feral child to a man with the heart of a dwarf, the instincts of a savage, and the soul of a hero. But it will take even more than that to defeat the demonic power of Crenshininbon, the fabled Crystal Shard.
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What listeners say about The Crystal Shard
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P. Teece
- 15-06-16
Re Discovering My Youth
Possibly not everyone might be aware of this but these books were set in a Campaign World called the Forgotten Realms, a world created by Ed Greenwood back in the mid eighties for the game Dungeons & Dragons, then owned by TSR.
The D&D franchise was then bought by The Wizards of the Coast and 28 years on since this first book was written by R A Salvatore, yes contrary to what people have said the Crystal Shard Trilogy were the first books published, the D&D 5th edition game has eventually come full circle back to the Realms, one of the most loved settings for the game and it was because of this I decided to listen to this series again to reacquaint myself with the world and its magical appeal.
The book still stands up after all these years, I thoroughly enjoyed it and as my memory is pretty shocking it was as if I was reading them again for the first time.
Looking forward to the rest in the series and then I will move on to The Dark Elf Trilogy, a prequel to the Crystal Shard, there are also two other series called The Legacy of the Drow and Paths of Darkness.
With regards to the Narrators performance my only criticism is his intonation became too monotonous, he finishes every sentence with the same intonation that after a while started to drive me crazy, sorry but I have been spoiled with listening to Stephen Fry performing the Harry Potter books, and thats the difference, there are narrators who just read the books and there are those who actually perform them, unfortunately Victor Bevine isn't the latter.
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14 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- robert
- 27-07-18
Victor Bevine is fine but...
Victor Bevine is fine but when he says “short lived” it drives me mad, who pronounces it short lie-ved?! Maddening.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David Jordan Cahill
- 26-12-20
Decent Tale, Narrator needs help...
The Crystal Shard is a classic Dungeons and Dragons book. And whilst the story isn't anything more than you would expect from such a book, it's still fun.
The Narrator, though he does excellent accents, has real issues pronouncing some simple words. When I say simple, I am not referring to character names or references to the weird or wonderful creatures and magics of the setting, but simple English words. Lived, is pronounced Ly-ved. Ravine is pronounced rav-in, And on and on. Once you start noticing these mispronounced words, they become truly jarring and drag you out of the story. I am very disappointed that whomever was overseeing the recording did not correct the narrator, and also extremely surprised that a professional voice actor could get so far, whilst lacking a basic grasp of the English language. This isn't toe-ma-toe versus toe-mate-oh. issue, this really is basic stuff, no matter what side of the Atlantic you live (NOT Ly-ve!). Get your act together Audible and Victor Bevine.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matt B
- 20-11-20
Classic fantasy in an iconic setting.
I picked this up with little knowledge of Drizzt beyond disparate mentions of his companions across D&D source books. I was hoping for just a bit more of a feel for the setting before running an Icewind Dale campaign, but Salvatore writes some good and classic fantasy here.
Inexorably I feel compelled to seek out the rest of the Drizzt novels, although still probably get them in book form.
Performance is good but I can't quite get over "westcotte" (waistcoat) and "short-lie-ved" (short lived)!
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jon Read
- 31-01-17
Fantastic
Absolutely brilliant. Thoroughly enjoyed. This is my first book in this series and I will definitely be listening to more.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 15-12-20
one of the greatest stories ever told
I absolutely adore this book. it started a love for these characters that goes back to the 90s and still going strong today. I can't compliment this book and the following stories enough.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 15-11-18
New story
The first book in a new series too me. I like sifi fantacies and this is just right for me. A new author who has many more books to follow. I hope this continues as i expect it too. Looking forward to many happy hours of listening.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richy
- 04-01-23
A damn good scene setter
A fantastic book, loved every minute of it and I look forward to hearing the next in the series.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex mccarthy
- 31-07-22
4th book and I cant take "lived"
book is amazing as the prior 3 but the narrator's pronunciation of "lived" as Live-ed is pretty bad
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ross H
- 06-06-22
Highly recommended
A fantastic story told in an accessible and relatable voice, i’ll be sure to read more of drizzt
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jim "The Impatient"
- 10-01-14
Had potential
I read this book several years ago, just to see what all the fuss was about. At the time I thought it was a three star book. I got it on audible to see if listening to it gave me better perspective. It started out great as it introduced us to several compelling characters. Then about chapter seven it turns into a battle after battle book. The characters are never really developed and so seem fairly shallow. I plan to read some more Salvatore written later to see if he starts to develop his characters.
Would a Tyrant refer to himself as a Tyrant? You should be open minded and not judge Dark Elves, Humans, Halflings, or Dwarfs by their skin color or height, but it is okay to consider all Orcs, Giants, Frost Giants, Demons, Trolls, and goblins as bad.
The narrator uses the same voices for most monsters and that is not a very good one. He makes the Demon sound retarded.
I hope you get to read this before I am thrown to the back pages. Salvatore fans are very protective of their author and anyone who does not agree is angrily given an unhelpful vote. One reviewer has 0-14 for voicing his opinion, although I will agree he might have been a little harsh.
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69 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 13-06-13
great book
I listened to the first 3 Drizzt books, And now I am glad to find this new series that carries on his adventures with other heroic characters. I ignored these books back when I used to actually read scifi/fantasy, now I wish I hadn't, excellent yarns. And by far, Bevine is the best narrator for the genre, not a fault can be found -- clear, good tone, his voice adds enthusiasm and excitement during exciting scenes, he does enough voice imitation for different characters to make it clear who is talking, but not corny either. And of course, the story was very good, else I wouldn't give it 5 stars. Highly recommended!
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42 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- David
- 27-01-14
Flashback to old school fantasy
There was a time when R.A.Salvatore was one of my favorite fantasy authors. I even had him autograph my copy of "Homeland," his introduction to the Drizzt character, which was riveting and original, set as it was in the Underdark where we were introduced to an entirely novel culture of shocking matriarchal cruelty and the Spider Queen goddess of the Drow elves.
Somehow I missed moving on to his second Drizzt trilogy, so I was looking forward to picking up the tale now after all these years. Unfortunately I found that the old school world of frost giants, dwarves, hobbits and barbarians suffers somewhat in comparison with the deluge of imagination and creativity to which we have been treated in the past thirty years. I wish I had read "Icewind Dale" when it first came out so that I could have enjoyed it without having to compare it to Sanderson and Abercrombie and Bujold and Lynch's Locke Lamora and, yes, R.R. Martin."
Still, I enjoyed traveling with the old companions again for a few hours. Though I find Victer Bevine's delivery to be a bit wide-eyed and labored, he does maintain the energy of the work and delineate the characters clearly. Though I will not follow the rest of the "Icewind" series, I'm glad I got reacquainted with Salvatore, and I may check out some of his more recent works to see how he has responded to the development of the fantasy genre.
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31 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Christopher
- 29-05-13
Another Epic Drizzt Saga
Would you listen to The Crystal Shard again? Why?
I would definitely listen to this book again. Maybe two or more times. Why? Because the nonstop action and adventure. The way that Salvatore captures the world is profound and detailed and makes me feel like I'm beside the characters.
Who was your favorite character and why?
My favorite character in this book was Brunner. He is witty and stubborn and plays a good prank on drizzt. I couldn't help but laugh and smile whenever he was in the chapter.
What does Victor Bevine bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Victor Bevine is an awesome narrator. He makes each character feel distinguished and gives each the charm and/or personality as if he were actually that character.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
This book definitely made me laugh at several parts, as well as bite my nails or even feel disdain at others. Defiantly kept me at the edge of my chair.
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Tim
- 05-11-16
Good start. Not great but good enough.
I'm writing this after having finished "Streams of Silver". I appreciate where the story is going and I like the overall effort and tone. The first half is a bit slow for me, but I liked the pacing in the second half of this book.
The performance is good and enjoyable.
I thought the core relationships are a little forced at the beginning of this book. Made me think about how most D&D parties feel a little forced as well at the start and how they need to grow into each other.
If you like D&D fantasy tales, this is a good one that spans the gamut in short time. It sets up the next installment well, which I have enjoyed more than this one.
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- vincent j jellison jr
- 23-02-16
wasnt as fun
good wise cracks and new character intros but all in all i had a hard time staying in this book
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13 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- KBopp
- 02-07-13
Great Intro to Drizzt
Where does The Crystal Shard rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Upper-middle tier.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Like most folks, I really connected with Drizzt. I think many of us have moments where we feel like singular bastions of decency in a world that needs fixing. He is unwaveringly loyal and has a strong moral compass - I can get behind a character like that!
What about Victor Bevine’s performance did you like?
I truly enjoyed Mr. Bevine's voice talents for the various characters, along with the ease applied to speaking unusual words and names that are frequent fare in the fantasy genre.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No, but that didn't make the story any less enjoyable.
Any additional comments?
I will be getting the balance of the Icewind Dale trilogy, so that says something :-)
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12 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 07-04-17
Not worth it.
I could not get into this despite having enjoyed the free Drizzt anthology with the various performers. It felt like the narrator was simply just reading the book. It took me out of the book which wasn't that great to begin with. Lasted maybe 5 hours until I just did not care anymore.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Eric M. Ortiz
- 22-03-17
Not bad
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
Perhaps, it's a basic story.
Would you ever listen to anything by R. A. Salvatore again?
Nope.
What aspect of Victor Bevine’s performance would you have changed?
Noting
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
No
Any additional comments?
Drizzt and his friends are far too powerful with lots of plot armor. The enemy was cliche.
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11 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Don K. Wood
- 28-09-15
Not for me
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
I DON'T KNOW.IT WAS NOT WELL WRITTEN, TO MANY CARICTORS WITH OUT ANY BACKGROUND. WERE DO THEY COME FROM.......
Would you ever listen to anything by R. A. Salvatore again?
I don't think so
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11 people found this helpful